THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

85

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the Department of Health to form a Working Group on Solid Waste Management.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the permit for the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Nanakuli on Oahu expires in 2028; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu (City) has not identified any sites for a new landfill that the Honolulu Board of Water Supply finds acceptable because the sites identified are located above aquifers and therefore have the potential to contaminate ground water; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City claims that the only legally available and feasible options for a new landfill are located above aquifers and lands with soils classified by the Land Study Bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of Defense holds that federal lands controlled by the military are not available for landfill use under federal rules; and

 

     WHEREAS, if no new landfill site is identified, the City will be forced to pursue a legally prohibited expansion of the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill; and

 

     WHEREAS, a new landfill on Oahu is inherently problematic and is not necessarily the only way that a community can dispose of the solid waste it produces; and

 

     WHEREAS, H-Power, the State's only waste-to-energy plant, is also unpopular and relies on a landfill to dispose of its toxic residues; and

 

     WHEREAS, different waste management technologies such as plasma arc gasification and pyrolysis need to be examined as potential solutions to Hawaii's landfill problem; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Health is requested to establish a Solid Waste Management Working Group; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Solid Waste Management Working Group is requested to comprise representatives from:

 

     (1)  The Department of Health;

 

     (2)  The Department of Environmental Services of the City and County of Honolulu;

 

     (3)  Each county, as designated by the mayor of that county;

 

     (4)  The Honolulu Board of Water Supply;

 

     (5)  The recycling industry, who is requested to be invited by the Governor; and

 

     (6)  The composting industry, who is requested to be invited by the Governor; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Solid Waste Management Working Group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report is requested to include information on solid waste management alternatives that protect the environment, which includes the groundwater, earth, and air, and existing alternatives currently in use; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Mayor of each county, and Manager and Chief Engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Department of Health; Solid Waste Management; Working Group; Report